With answer key for advanced

2
Rewrite these sentences by changing the underlined words into nouns.
1. The machine weighed about 340 kg.
The machine was 
.
2. The numbers of microwaves in homes is increasing around the world.
There is an 
in homes around the world.
3. There is nothing that indicates domestic microwaves pose a risk to health.
There is no 
.
4. Spencer’s work is still very relevant today.
Spencer’s work 
today.
5. Companies should invest more in finding new applications for microwave technology.
There should be 
new applications for microwave technology.
6. The public were very slow to accept Spencer’s discovery.
There was a 
Spencer’s discovery.
7. Spencer grew up in a very poor family.
Spencer grew up 
.
• 
Before you begin trying to find the answers, quickly read the whole text so you get a good idea 
of its structure and how it develops.
• 
Pay particular attention to the sentences before and after each gap because a lot of the most 
important information that helps you locate the missing paragraph will be there.
Exam tips

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52
ADVANCED READING AND USE OF ENGLISH  | PART 7 | 3
ADVANCED READING AND USE OF ENGLISH
© Cambridge University Press and UCLES 2018
3
PART 7
Exam task
1
You are going to read a newspaper article about the arts. Six paragraphs have been removed 
from the article. Choose from the paragraphs A–G the one which fits each gap (1–6). There is 
one extra paragraph which you do not need to use.
Replacing arts subjects in schools
Arts and education
Despite a lack of resources, we need a commitment to 
creativity in schools.
In 2006, 84-year-old American novelist, Kurt Vonnegut, 
wrote a letter to a class of schoolchildren who had 
asked him to visit. He was too ill to travel, but offered 
them instead the following lesson for life: ‘Practise any 
art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, 
sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, not to 
get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to 
find out what’s inside you, to make your soul grow.’
1
Middle-class parents have long known this; it’s why they
get their children signed up for music groups before they 
can walk. Being ‘cultured’ opens doors even if you don’t 
pursue a career in the arts. Private schools know this 
too, and usually offer a rich and varied extracurricular 
programme of artistic activities. But Vonnegut’s advice is 
not so easy to follow for those who have little opportunity 
or guidance when it comes to the arts.
2
Perhaps an even greater worry is that creative writing, 
art, drama and music, once an integral part of the 
curriculum, are having their status reduced in favour of 
more obviously ‘commercially useful’ subjects. In the 
UK, for example, there has recently been a huge decline 
in the number of pupils taking qualifications in arts 
subjects. In a challenging global economy, the arts are 
increasingly seen as ‘soft subjects’.
3
This observation was reinforced when my 14-year-
old son recently chose subject options for the two 
subsequent academic years. The fact that his school 
decided to send an accompanying letter assuring 
parents that the ‘soft subjects’ would not be considered 
inferior to maths and sciences by the top universities 
was telling in itself.
4
So, if schools and government are unable or unwilling 
to stem the tide in favour of more ‘commercially 
useful’ subjects at the expense of artistic ones, where 
do those whose career aims do not neatly fall into 
the commercially useful category turn? Charitable 
institutions which provide grants and bursaries for 
talented young people are springing up in many 
countries, or finding themselves in greater demand. 
Students who were unable to develop their skills for 
want of the most basic provision – the cost of a musical 
instrument or the train fare to attend a drama school 
audition – are getting their financial needs met, and are 
also helped in other ways. 
5
But the obvious problem with charities is that, by 
definition, they can’t be everywhere and such an 
approach is no substitute for a nationwide educational 
commitment to the arts that reflects the value of 
the creative sector to the economy and to personal 
wellbeing. The performing arts should not become 
luxuries for well-off children, because talent doesn’t go 
with money.
6
To achieve this worthy aim, governments should 
consider not only the inclusion of the expressive arts 
in all state school curricula, but also investment in 
teachers who can provide art, drama and music outside 
the timetable, for the less tangible – but no less valuable 
– purpose of expanding minds and, yes, growing souls.

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